#garak turned out too good not to

[its-always-sunny-in-city17]

EEYGHAHKLKHHH!!!!

[vaguely-concerned]

another really interesting thing in our man bashir to me is that I think this is the point where garak finally mostly relinquishes his self-appointed role as bashir's teacher. he seems to have taken it upon himself early on, for inscrutable but probably partially horny, partially cultivating a promising (and lovely) contact reasons of his own, to imbue julian bashir with some spysmarts and basic bastard thinking literacy skills, in the hopes that he won't go get his bright beautiful excitable ass killed at the first opportunity. there's a lot of mentor/protege undertone there in the early years. (if you want to get into asit stuff, very much in the same vein as palandine and garak's relationship in the beginning.)

but in omb garak really only has one of his little lectures, and it's basically about The thing about being a spy (and a person) that has most shaped his life: That's something else you've yet to learn, Doctor. A real intelligence agent has no ego, no conscience, no remorse. Only a sense of professionalism. There is no joy, no magic, no real delight to this, no winning, no recognition, and most importantly no connection; the reward for work well done is only ever the work itself. You don’t kiss the girl, get the key — you simply get on with turning yourself into nothing as best you can. and julian, who had just been trying to momentarily imagine a world where secrets can be cool and glamorous and for good, meaningful reasons that empower him to help the world rather than shameful and isolating and alienating and like a damocles sword hanging over him and everything he cares about, shoots back with 'well, but what if not that, though? that's the whole point of this game! this is my story not yours, trust me to know it better than you do. (I have more things to teach you too, if you’d just listen. And once he gets shot a little bit, garak does listen.)'

(somewhere beneath all this is almost exactly the same debate they will have explicitly later on -- "Sentiment is the greatest weakness of all"/"If that's true, that's one lesson I never want to learn". Something something the freedom to imagine and play around with different worlds in your head, no matter how cringefail james bond LARP nonsense that world is as long as it brings you hope and joy and new perspectives, kill the part of you that cringes etc. Garak you're allowed to get out of the closet in your head now, Tain is gone, you can imagine different things than what has been and no one will turn it against you. Im… sad)

through most of this episode garak is observing, and when he's not simply bitching about everything from the sidelines (<3), he's tentatively trying to throw in comments to play along, to figure out how the flow goes like he's learning a different language, and he's BAD at it hahaha. he barged in there to put himself in a position to learn something about julian bashir's ~*hidden inner psyche*~, but UH-OH spiritual uno reverse card time he's having to face some shit about his own psyche and the immense barrenness it's been forced to operate under for so long.

The learning between them has of course always been two-way (that’s partially what the whole relationship is built on), but in giving up the more ‘formal’ role — mask — of teacher, garak is also opening up space for realer emotional intimacy, letting one layer of artificiality fall and allowing more realness to shine through. even so he doesn’t let go of control completely until he’s faced with irrefutable (horny) proof that julian’s sentiments and ideals are backed by real conviction — julian knows (possibly better than garak does) what is a game, and what is real, and where he draws the line between frivolous and deeply necessary is different from where garak would and by the end of the ep I think garak trusts julian more, enough to leave the story in julian’s hands without trying to steer or form him even indirectly/sneakily. And to top it all off, the way julian uses his last dramatic speech to signal that he did also listen to what garak told him… augh.  

the teacher role, along with the lies (ever his swiss army knife god bless), has helped garak keep a sort of fine-tuned control of the level of emotional intimacy possible between them, stay in control of what narratives are even on the table. and I think finally letting that fade more into the background transforms their relationship in ways that can pay off big time down the line, for all that it leaves things a bit strange and tentative in the meantime. by garak standards he’s being positively transparent in this episode. for the first time he talks about his time in the order without any coy prevarication, he states his hunger for knowing julian better right down to his ~*hidden inner psyche*~ almost pathetically openly (<3<3<3<3). And this is just my headcanon and definitely not what was meant at the time of airing, the unplanned nature of the augment reveal being what it is, but in context of the whole show as it became it feels a lot like garak offering some of his own authenticity to signal that julian could trust him with his. It feels like garak has figured out at least the rough outlines of what julian has uh got going on and tried to make this gambit, having… perhaps underestimated the extent of the defenses julian has internally/psychologically against Being Known, quite aside from the practical real world consequences of his secret getting out. Anyway. Lots in this episode. Many thoughts.

[lambic-pentameter]

@sebastianmercier i got u dude

Cirrus and Madala Bashir have been sitting, watching their uncle through the window, for the past 10 minutes at least.

There had been…rumors…among their cousins the cardassian that uncle Julian brought home wasn’t exclusively a friend.

“I don’t see it.” Cirrus said. Cirrus has never been in a romantic relationship (most kids haven’t) and never planned to, so maybe they’re not the best judge.

“I do.” Madala has also never been in a romantic relationship, but many of her friends have (occasionally with each other. Dating in a group got messy very quick).

“They’re just sitting at a table and talking. Does uncle Julian even like men?”

“‘Does uncle Julian like men’ have you even met him before.”

“Look, I don’t know! I don’t pay attention to that stuff.”

“Yeah, you’re too busy playing games on your padd.”

“It’s called coding—” Cirrus is cut off by Madala elbowing them in the torso.

“Ow! What the heck?”

“Look.”

Uncle Julian takes the cardassian’s (His name is Garak, right? Cirrus doesn’t remember) hands into his own, leaning closer to his face.

“Can you hear what they’re saying?” Cirrus whispers, despite the fact they’re behind a window and several meters away.

Madala presses her ear to the window.

“Nope.”

Cirrus sighs. “Darn you, Federation provided reinforced transparent aluminum they give to all Starfleet families.”

“No they don’t.”

“What?”

“No, mom’s just paranoid.”

“But that’s what she told me…”

“You know she doesn’t like uncle Julian being in Starfleet, she’s worried about our safety.”

“I don’t think the Romulans or whatever will care about two random shut-in kids.”

“You’d be surprised. My friend had to move out to Vulcan.”

“Really?”

Madala focuses back on the task at hand, “Maybe we can send Krishen out. She’s young enough to spy and play innocent.”

“Maybe…oh shoot, they’re looking at us!”

The two children duck down from the window, not wanting their intel gathering to be interrupted.

————

“Dear?”

“Yes, Elim?”

“I believe your—what’s it called again? Your ‘niblings’ are trying to spy on us.”

Julian turns to the window Garak had been staring at, and what do you know it, the blur of two children ducking down below the view of the window is what can be seen.

“Rather sloppy work, if I do say so myself. If I wanted to gather intel on family relations I would’ve at least planted a bug.”

“Not everyone had the head of the Obsidian Order for a father, Elim.” Julian says, with a knowing smile.

“I suppose their idea of espionage is a good one, for children raised in a paradise.”

“You think that they’re speculating about our relationship?”

“Oh, certainly. Their uncle, who’s been living out on Deep Space Nine moves to Cardassia, and then comes to visit Earth with a cardassian.That would arouse suspicion in anyone.”

“Huh. I suppose that’s true…hm.”

“What is it, dear?”

“I’ve been wondering about this cardassian myself…”

Julian leans even closer to Garak than he was before, barely a hair separating them.

“Who he is, why he’s here, why he’s so interested in me..”

“Perhaps we should discuss it in your quarters over a book and two Tarkalean teas?”

“I would very much appreciate that.”

Julian gets up first, grazing his hand along Garaks neck and down to his arm, pulling him along to their guest room.

Two shocked faces (which had since reappeared in the window) can be seen.

————

“Oh my gosh.” Cirrus had their hands on the sides of their head.

“Dude.”

“Oh my gosh.”

“DUDE.”

“That’s like. That’s.”

“That’s basically MAKING OUT for cardassians.”

The siblings look at each other.

“We have to tell everyone, right?” Cirrus asks.

“Absolutely.”

[youngpettyqueen]

wrote something unbearably fluffy and I will be posting it on ao3 tomorrow but I wanted to do something a lil different and post it here. this is because I dont have the energy to do the format editing for ao3 rn but I want people to see it right now immediately

garashir, post-canon Cardassia, short and sweet, fluff that will rot your teeth out. enjoy <3

“Elim?” 

Gentle hands resting on his shoulders rouse Garak from a sleep he didn’t even realize he’d fallen into. He jerks awake with a rather undignified snort, more startled than he’d care to admit as he straightens himself up in his chair. Falling asleep at his desk… he really is getting sloppy.

Those hands squeeze his shoulders gently. He would know that touch anywhere.

“Only me, love,” Julian’s voice murmurs, soft and reassuring, “Didn’t mean to startle you.” 

Garak glances back over his shoulder, wincing slightly at the kink that’s developed in his neck from his awkward sleeping position. “You’ll have to forgive me, my dear,” He replies, offering Julian a tired smile, “I seem to have lost track of the time.”

He takes a moment to give Julian a quick once-over, his eyes heavy with sleep but no less sharp. He looks dishevelled, his hair a mess of loose curls and his jaw lined with a shadow of stubble. He doesn’t have any visible injuries, and his uniform is rumpled, but intact. So today was long, but likely not life-threatening. Good. He’d been worried, before he went and passed out.

Julian smiles back at him, a warm expression, though very tired. The lines under his eyes are deep. “I’ll forgive you, if you forgive me for being so late,” He offers, gently rubbing Garak’s shoulders, “Sorry to have kept you waiting. I was drafting requests for more medical equipment, and lost track of time myself.” He explains.

“How could I ever fault you for such a noble endeavour?” Garak asks, leaning back into Julian’s hands, which are doing wonders for what’s become a permanent stiffness in his shoulders, “I’m sure the staff appreciate your efforts.” His doctor has done marvellously, adapting to working in a Cardassian hospital. It took a couple of crisis situations before the rest of the staff finally took him seriously, but he’s managed to find a place for himself with minimal friction, as far as the hospital staff are concerned. Usually a Human would never have been accepted so quickly, but these are desperate times, and they can seldom afford to turn away such a capable pair of hands. 

“They’ll appreciate it when I actually get the equipment,” Julian replies. He works his thumbs into a knot at the base of Garak’s neck, and Garak all but melts against him, a pleased sound rumbling low in his chest, “Dare I ask what you’re doing with Kukalaka?” 

The question snaps Garak out of his pleased little trance. He glances back at his desk and finds that the bear is, in fact, sitting there, a needle still attached to thread hanging loose from his leg, which is half-sewn to his body. “Ah,” He says, now recalling what he was doing before sleep so unceremoniously claimed him, “Yes, that… well, I was rather hoping to surprise you with that tomorrow…” He hums, feeling a flash of annoyance at his plans being thwarted. 

Julian leans over his shoulder, examining his handiwork. “Oh, Elim…” He murmurs, like Garak has just handed him the world, “You wonderful, wonderful man. You really are too good to me.” He wraps his arms loosely around Garak’s neck, rests his weight against him as he presses his warm cheek to the side of his head.

It never ceases to amaze Garak, just how easy it is to make Julian’s day. The smallest acts have him behaving as if Garak has put the suns in the sky just for him. “Hardly,” He refutes, because he could never be too good for the man who reminds him days after day that good exists in this universe simply by existing, “You may have convinced the little ruffian’s mother that you weren’t upset over Kukalaka being torn asunder, but I know you far better than that. I may not understand the significance of the little fellow, but I would be remiss if I allowed him to remain in tatters when I could easily repair him.” He reasons, and it’s an awfully long way to say I hate to see you sad.

“That little ruffian was all of 3 years old,” Julian points out, a smile in his voice, “And teething, might I add, so understandably cranky. But… thank you,” A warm kiss is pressed to Garak’s cheek, an action that turns him into a puddle of bliss and affection, “I would tell you just how much it means to me, but I’m afraid I’m much too tired to adequately express myself.” He kisses Garak’s cheek again, and nuzzles against him.

Garak hums happily, reaching up to rest a hand on Julian’s arm. “Oh, I don’t know,” He muses, rubbing circles into Julian’s arm with his thumb, “I believe I could infer the depths of your gratitude from, say… more kisses.” He suggests, tilting his head so that he can flash Julian a cheeky grin. 

Julian snorts, buries his face in Garak’s neck as laughter shakes his slender shoulders. When he lifts his head again, he has the loveliest smile lines on his rosy-cheeked face, and the lines under his eyes don’t seem quite so deep anymore. 

“You’re incorrigible.” Julian tells him, earnestly and completely affectionate. 

“Yes,” Garak agrees, “And I do believe you love me for it.” 

“Oh, very much,” Julian agrees, leaning in till his nose taps against Garak’s, “It’s one of your most endearing traits.” 

Garak rubs their noses together, a gesture that is indescribably affectionate and also quite silly. “Tell me again about all those endearing traits of mine?” He requests.

“I’m far too tired for that,” Julian replies, his eyes flicking to Garak’s lips, “I think I’d much rather kiss you silly. Is that an acceptable substitute?” He asks. 

Garak doesn’t respond verbally, just angles his head and pushes up to capture Julian’s lips with his. Julian makes a happy little hum as he kisses him back, and his smile as he presses his lips to Garak’s again and again says more about his gratitude and his love than any string of words ever could. 

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

Can I have Siskarak fanfic recs, please? I've only read a few (can't remember too well at 3AM; one on the Defiant comes to mind), and I was surprised by how well the vibe worked!

Oh absolutely. 😈 Fair warning that I’m gonna rec a LOT of my own fics bc I’m shameless like that, but also because I’ve written like 25% of the Siskarak fics that exist. 😂 Of course in addition to my little ramblings, please check all the tags and summaries on these and just read the ones that speak to you! 💖 And now, in no particular order:

so, I lied, I cheated by me - My beloved siskarak novella!! 🥰 It’s an In the Pale Moonlight AU where Sisko and Garak fake an affair to explain why they are meeting together secretly all the time now, so that no one will realize it’s actually bc they’re conspiring to bring the Romulans into the war. It’s a VERY cracky premise, and I then treat the implications of that premise with the utmost severity haha. It’s a big clusterfuck of them making each other worse and ruining each other’s lives but I did aim for a hopeful ending for them and for their healthier relationships (siskasidy and garashir). I’m so proud of it, I have some planted some insane character insights into there that I truly can’t figure out other simpler ways to express/convince people of than by writing them into a complicated angsty porny ITPM-but-way-worse fic.

And Scene by Flazéda (peternurphy) - Obsessed with this one. Sisko and Garak have to go undercover at a sex club, and I am just such a sucked for fake relationship scenarios. I’m also never not thinking about the moment in this fic where Sisko muses internally on how spanking Garak’s ass with a paddle is satisfying in the same way as swinging a baseball bat.

Moonlight Still Casts Shadows by Warpcorps @spocksbeanies - This one is SO HOT. It’s post-ITPM and Sisko is continuing to compromise his morals in delicious, sexy ways to accomplish his goals. 😈 (He’s having sex with Garak to keep him happy and working for him.)

Decadence: In His Service by JA Chapman is soooo good and sooo insane and I want to read approximately 10k more words about the messy, messy scenario described. Siskarak is only a secondary ship, the main one shown is Sloan/Sisko. I don’t particularly buy into it as realistic, but this fic ask all kinds of questions and offers NO answers, and I am driven insane by it every day, I do still recommend. XD

Exaltation by @hellostuffedtiger is another good one involving Sloan and it is much closer to canon than the above hahaha. Sisko and Garak have casual sex, then discuss S31 and Sloan and how to protect Bashir.

going up, going down by me - Crackfic to the max, haha! Garak gives Sisko a blowjob in the turbolift and they get caught.

Plausible Deniability by katiemariie is really interesting and reading it helped kick off my interest in the ship! I do have some small quibbles with it bc I don’t really buy that Garak isn’t interested in Bashir or that Siskarak could actually become a sustainable romantic ship, but oh man other than that the dynamic is great here!

Captain’s Whore by @the-last-dillpickle - Garak pettily making sure everyone knows he’s Sisko’s mistress is just so fun and delightful 😂

partners in crime by anonymous - A tasty little post-ITPM PWP where Sisko does a bit of introspection about himself and Garak’s effect on him.

you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine by me - This might be the one on the Defiant you’re thinking of. It’s set during Second Skin. I wanted to write a lower stakes, chiller, flirtier Siskarak dynamic here and I really really like how it turned out 🥰

A few more very short fics by me:

me and the devil walking side by side

lying down with dogs

dirty little secret

never loved nobody fully (alternate Siskarak ending) (there’s also a podfic of this drabble by klb and blackglass and horchatapods… I know at least one of you is on tumblr and I can’t remember which rn)

Not super shippy but def have some fun and somewhat charged Sisko and Garak interactions:

Farce of the Prophets by @cardassiangoodreads - This one involves Garak messing with Sisko a little bit haha. It’s got those fake relationship elements I love so dearly 🥰

Dance of Fools by stuffedtiger - More Siskarak fake relationship stuff 😈 They dance 🥰

redacted by me - Garak and Sisko figuring out how to work together when they are both stationed on Starbase 375 at the beginning of s6.

This was so fun to put together, thanks for this ask, I love gushing about my fave siskarak fics 💖

[hollis-art]

Your taste in fics seems amazing. For the life of me I can't find any star trek fanfictions. Care to share some of your favorites? I would love to hear it :3

heck yeah! sure!

I always save the ones I really like right after I read them, but I can't seem to find the DaForge one I was talking about.

The descriptions I will put after the recs are how I described them to remind myself what they were about (I don't think they help though, because I can't remember them that well,,,) Either way, I'm sure the actual description of the fics are better than the ones I put !!

Data/Geordi:

Flowers- by astraa (hauntedpunk) General data is trying to understand his emotions, he grows flowers and he talks to spot

no emotion that's worth having- orcamermaid Teen and Up data is trying to understand his emotions and how love works. geordi is helping (REALLY CUTE)

every dream i have is sweeter- orcamermaid General, Community (TV) crossover TROY AND ABED GEORDI AND DATA AU???? WHAT! ITS SO CUTE SO GOOD HKJDSAHGDSKJGHDSKJ THEMMMMM

Expectation- justabrain General geordi and data's relationship seen by outsiders, very cute, wedding at the end

all the everything that ever was- squilf Teen and Up picard and Q are soulmates, riker was told not to tell anyone about it (he failed) data and la forge are soulmates too !!! in the background but its still there

Garak/Bashir:

pouring just a hint- susiecarter Teen and Up garak always drinks from bashir's cup before giving it to him, and bashir assumed it was just a quirk of his, but it is actually a cardassian sign of love and trust :)

The 50/50 Consensus- TheoMiller General julian notices that garak is lonlier and stuff is too bright for him so that all gets changed :)

Designs and Alterations- AuroraNova, ConceptaDecency Teen and Up garak has been giving julian coupons, it took a while for him to realize that no one else has been getting them

Balloon Buddies- almaasi General garak and bashir get turned into animals, very silly

The Cupid Computer- almaasi Teen and Up bashir is feeling lonely, so he took a quiz that takes up personal information to show you who your best match/soulmate is

Tell Me You Love Me (Or Tell Me a Lie)- almaasi Teen and Up garak gets a message that he's due to be sent home, (to die, literally or symolically) so he tells jullian his deepest secrets as tradition

Quark/Odo:

your accent mixing with mine- spacebubble Teen and Up the universal language translator is down, odo realizes that quark has his accent when pronouncing words. they kiss

More Forsaken Than Usual- NervousAsexual General instead of being stuck in the elevator with lwaxana troi, odo is stuck with quark

Breathe- Paratale General odo is upset, quark helps him learn how to cry

play it again- nepetrel Teen and Up ((this one is better without knowing the twist, but this involves time travel and kissing :) ))

Conflicts with Interest- katiemariie Teen and Up quark and odo bicker. they're in an established relationship, im putting this here because i really like the fluidity they gave to odo

put down your sword and crown- spacebubble Teen and Up quark is drunk so odo tries to figure out why

Spock/Kirk:

Ten Things I (Love) About You- ItinerantAvthor General this is based on a merther fic of the same premise. spock accidently finds a list that kirk made about him, but there is a space torn out of the top. "10 things i ___e about spock". spock thinks that the logical conclusion is that the word is 'hate'. he proceeds to try his best to not do any of the things listed :) this is the fic that got me into star trek, actually

The prominence of a simple word- Exploding_Space General kirk just keeps calling spock 'sweetheart'

Science Blues- museaway Teen and Up mccoy and spock body swap on accident. they don't tell kirk.

Textual Beginnings- iknewaman Teen and Up wrong number fic!!! Academy era!! kirk finds spock's number on the bathroom wall and decides to text it, its really cute

Of Coffee Beans and Green Tea Leaves- Se7en_devils Teen and Up spock goes to a cafe that kirk works at, kirk keeps flirting with him and using words of different dialects to do it because he learned that spock is a language professor. very adorable

Letters From Across the Universe- Starlighter_Varda General spock and kirk are pen pals from across the universe. temporary character death (sorta) cried over this, very good. there's a cat named leonard, love him

Something Smart to Do- kianspo Mature (i don't remember what's mature about it. i don't think it was anything bad, if it was, i wouldn't have saved it, or i would've made a note of it) all of the times kirk and spock are 'married' for a mission. very adorable

Miscommunication- sinestrated Teen and Up kirk gets his brain all goofed up, making him call people by whatever nickname he thinks of them by. he tries to avoid spock, knowing full well the word was going to be something sweet (it was)

Pirates, Spies, and Bedtime Stories- lallyloo General spock and kirk get into a transporter accident that turns them 5 years old. mccoy takes care of them

ok i think that's all of the ones I have written down!! (for now) i hope this helps!! :) they're all ship fics because i honestly find star trek kind of boring if you don't watch it for them,,,

[chewbokachoi]

Write about your ship sharing hot drinks together.

dealer's choice for ship!

Haha...me "I'm not gonna write any cute Cassan/Smoke while I mope" but also me "jk I'm gonna make them adorable af." but also I forgot if you ship Garak/Bashir or not so if it turns out I'm dumb I can do a Special Round 2

Anyway this ended up longer than I expected BUT I DID IT. Thank you for the ask <3

Ship: Cassan x Smoke

Context - the friend in question is Corbin

It was a cold, winter night. Tomáš couldn't deny how surprised he was that there was a place still open at this hour in the middle of nowhere. Cassan, though, didn't seem surprised at all. 

"Seriously, you've never been to a Denny's?" She asked,

"I've heard of them."

"That's not the same as being at one." Cassan said, resting her elbows on the table and arching her right eyebrow. The left one still had a butterfly bandage–he tried to stop worrying about it. The excuse was she needed to see if she could turn the healing off.

"Alright, alright," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Never been. First time. …At three in the morning," he added. He held off on also adding 'This is what we get after dealing with Kano kidnapping your friend out of prison?' but Tomáš knew better than to bring that up at the moment. And he pulled the thought back, as if handing it to the Enenra to be sure.

A waiter arrived. "Can I get you anything?" He asked–he seemed too young to be working a graveyard shift.

"We'll go for two hot chocolates," Cassan said cheerfully.

"They serve that here?" Tomáš asked, trying to make sense of the garishly colored menu.

"Yup." Cassan said, not bothering to examine the menu. She had already put it back behind the condiments. "Seriously, you've never been to a diner?"

He glanced away, shrugging. "I mean, Johnny took me to a few, but they were, uh…"

"Not like this. Got it." Cassan laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "So this means I shouldn't do the 'You come here often' pickup line on you?"

Tomáš couldn't help but laugh despite how tired he was. And disappointed, if he had to be honest–Kano had gotten away. Then again, it wasn't like Cassan wasn't upset either. That was her friend they had taken. 

They were both quite used to pushing aside their upset for the sake of others.

"Isn't it my job to be the one to use cheesy pickup lines?" He asked.

Cassan gave him her innocent, doe-eyed look…which meant she was debating on saying something incredibly inappropriate or not.

Fortunately, before she had the chance to demonstrate her decision, the server arrived with the hot chocolate. The mugs looked like they had been through enough. But by being such a questionable color of beige, they made the already white whip cream look even whiter and brighter.

Cassan seemed happy, which meant it had to be good. He'd never had a bad drink of hot chocolate before. "Thank you," Cassan chirped as the server turned away. She looked back at Tomáš and held up her mug. "To new experiences? Me having a friend kidnapped and you having diner hot chocolate?"

"I'm not sure those are comparable," Tomáš said, picking up his mug.

"Well, from what you've told me about your life…you might find it the same." Cassan said without a hint of judgment or annoyance.

The whip cream tasted fine enough. Tomáš took a sip of the hot chocolate. He paused, his mind processing the expectation vs the reality.

Cassan, Tomáš saw, looked amused. Her mouth was twisted the way it often did when she was trying to not laugh. She raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

Tomáš set the mug down. It wasn't bad it was just…

"Water and chocolate?"

"I mean, nothing wrong with that," he said, used to it. "Just…"

"Not as good as the, well, good stuff?" Cassan said, continuing to sip her drink.

"I'm sure I'll get used to it. Something tells me you'll be dragging me to all the odd corners of this country if nobody stops you." Tomáš said, picking up his mug again. "And I'm not going to stop you," he added with a small smile.

[lorenzobane]

Up in the Air

(A/N: I'm traveling! So please enjoy a little ficlet- I had even less time than I normally do, so I truly apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. Also thank you to @wanderingwriter87 for the prompt! )

Julian shifts in his seat before twitching and shifting again. He ignores the blatant side eye from his neighbor and lets himself take a long, deep breath. He’s fine. Everything is going to be okay. 

He glances around and isn’t shocked to see mostly fellow aid workers, it isn’t as if Cardassia Prime is a tourist destination. And likely won’t be anytime soon. 

Though Julian is going for more than just aid. 

He is just about to reach for his snacks when his PADD dings with a message notification. 

Garak: Are you settled in on the shuttle? 

Julian smiles absently to himself. He can’t believe he’s actually going to Cardassia. For Garak of all people. 

(Who else would he do this for, though? His rational brain asks and he ignores.) 

Instead, he pulls out a stylus.

Bashir: Yes, I should reach in about eleven hours. I 

Julian stops typing. He what? Can’t wait to see him? Well yes, that’s obvious. But is it a bit.. Desperate? He backspaces. 

Bashir: Yes, I should reach in about eleven hours. I’ll let you know when I land! 

There. That’s good. Appropriate. Not too much. Because of everything he thinks he knows about what Garak feels about him, he hasn't actually said anything for every heartfelt confession he’s deduced through Garak’s increasingly poetic letters. 

God, what if he’s making a huge mistake? 

“Hello, and welcome to the USS Rio Grande; this shuttle is outbound for Cardassia Prime. Please power down all subspace-accessible communication devices for the remainder of the flight. Thank you, and we hope you have a pleasant journey.” 

Just before he goes to turn his PADD off, it dings one more time. From Garak. 

Garak: I can’t wait to see you. 

And Julian can’t help but grin. At least one of them can take a risk.

[leohttbriar]

(saw a post going around exclaiming about the brilliance of some star trek lines i didn't particularly care for (including that dumb odo-democracy line) so to make myself feel better i came up with my own list of favorites that i can now pull from with ease and pretend i'm quoting from something a little more sophisticated than prime-time tv.)

some of my favorite star trek lines/dialogue:

"So much we still do not know. But I am certain of one thing: we are both looking up." Saru

"What if it's smart fungus?" Jadzia Dax

"I saw the sunlight. I can't believe that our caretaker would forbid us to open our eyes and see the sky." Kes

"I can't say for sure, but they desperately want to know others and to be known. They...are the planet." Saru

"It seems we're in a situation now where the rules have changed. And maybe, if we're going to survive out here, we have to start changing, too." Chakotay

"It can only be what it is, not what you want it to be." Michael

Spock: I noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours. McCoy: 'Suffer the death of they neighbor,' eh, Spock? You wouldn't wish that on us, would you?

"It's almost like being on the deck of an old sailing ship. Only the stars are not just up in the sky--they're all around us." Sisko

"Your job is to find the truth--not obtain convictions." Odo

"I have nowhere to go back to. The only thing I can do right now...is trust something." Michael

"In Kenya, we have 22 native languages. I found out early that, if I wanted to be understood, it's best to communicate in someone's own tongue. So I learned them." Uhura

"I canceled my death for you. I was really looking forward to it." Terminally ill character to Julian

Julian: I was so arrogant. I thought I could find [a cure] in a week. Dax: Maybe it was arrogant to think that. But it's even more arrogant to think there isn't a cure.

"I object to you. I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose." Spock

"You treat death like a lover. I think living is lot more attractive." Jadzia

Odo: Every 16 hours, I turn into a liquid. Lwaxana: I can swim.

"As for you, there is one favor I would ask. Live, Jadzia Dax. Live a long, fresh, and wonderful life." Enina

"Let me help. A hundred years or so from now, I believe, a famous novelist will write a classic using that theme. He'll recommend those three words over 'I love you.'" Kirk

"That baby I'm holding in my hands now is the universe itself, and I need to study its face." Sisko

Pike: But we can't see them or detect them in any way. Uhura: I can hear them.

"Vulcans are capable of suppressing certain levels of physical pain. Beyond that, we must simply endure the experience." Tuvok

Julian: I'm sure we'll see each other again. Garak: I'd like to think so. But one can never say. We live in uncertain times.

"Maybe that's the good in seeing my future--that I might remind you that, right up until the very end, life is to be worn gloriously." Pike

[wanderingwriter87]

untitled ficlet

Garak's fingers twitched over the holographic keyboard. There were already two versions of the message in his drafts, both of which now felt unnecessarily combative. He knew he should just leave it alone. They would talk in the morning - Julian's anger burned hot and quick, and he'd be in a better mood by then. 

They had simply gotten off on the wrong foot today. Garak still struggled to judge when he had crossed the line between playful banter and an actual argument, the kind that humans tend to take personally. But no, of course that wasn't entirely it. He'd known from the beginning this was personal. 

What he hadn't expected was to take it so personally himself. 

He regretted it - all of it, even the innocuous things he'd said that led to this. He regretted how, when it turned ugly, he'd let it slip that he had broken into Julian's private comms before to delete messages that he thought better of sending, before they could be seen. 

Of course Julian had always known, had said as much, but the fact that Garak brought it up gave him the opportunity to mention it, with a good bit of pent-up frustration behind it.

Betrayed my trust. 

That was the phrase he used. And certainly he had every right to - and he hadn't intended the visceral reaction from Garak. Of course he didn't. How could he have known?

Certainly, coming from anyone else, Garak likely could have brushed it off. He had before. The Kardasi word for betrayed (which the UT had helpfully chimed in with) certainly got a lot of use, and there was really no reason for him to fixate on the one person in his life who had said it more than anyone else.

And in his mind, his own pathetic response echoed:

I never betrayed you! Not in my heart!

But Julian, of course, didn't know. With his human sensibilities and his Federaji optimism, how could he? He had only met Enabran Tain once (and that was one time too many, quite frankly) and he was never going to understand the complexities of that relationship. What betrayed my trust meant to a man like Tain. What it meant to Garak, dragging him back to the first moment of his exile as surely as a temporal anomaly.

Garak stood up from the console abruptly and walked to the viewport. The little stabs of pain behind his eye, the headache that was probably to blame for his state of mind in the first place, throbbed a little harder.

What he wouldn't give to breathe fresh air tonight.

He imagined explaining it to Julian (horrifying!) and couldn't decide which outcome would be worse - a rush of sympathy, or indifference. After all, the intent of his words was to hurt, and he'd certainly accomplished that.

No, not to hurt. To correct your behavior. That was Mila's voice, and he was biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.

He went back to the console and wrote it all out - not the exact truth, of course, but something like it. Then, line by line, he deleted it all.

Just for good measure, he went in and deleted the other two drafts as well. There was simply no telling what kind of technical glitch this place might experience that would send them off to Julian in six months when all of this would be forgotten.

It occurred to him that maybe Julian wouldn't be apologetic or indifferent, but perhaps offended at the implicit comparison. Of course Julian was nothing like Tain, in anything but perhaps the level of devotion he inspired. But that, too, was better left unsaid.

Garak stood again, locked the console, and went to his bookshelf. He had a few paper books still, precious stowaways from a former life, but most of them were on PADDs and datarods. And now, after years of exchanging literature with Julian, every single one of them bore some memory or association with him. No, there was no escape to be had there.

A game of kotra against the computer - no, in addition to being thoroughly uninspiring, he would only be able to think of Julian across the table frowning in delightful concentration at his pieces.

Somehow the doctor had become entwined with every part of his life, and it was far too late to attempt untangling it - even if he'd wanted to.

He laid down then, on top of the blankets, head flat on the mattress and eyes staring widely at the dull red lights on the ceiling. His head ached. His heart ached. This was the price he paid for letting someone in so close, close enough to really hurt.

For Julian, he'd pay it. Again, and again, and again.

[bijoumikhawal]

A devil like you

(Read on AO3)

It was a crass little game. Well, kotra wasn't- while Garak's eyes often dilated at tense parts, enraptured by the prospect of winning and loosing, nothing came of it. It wasn't that thrilling.

Not by itself.

The dice had been a tongue in cheek gift from Jadzia at her Trill New Year's party. Sisko had gotten a similar pair, and judging by the tops of Kira's ears, so had she.

Julian had set them on the table, sober faced, as Garak set up the kotra board.

Garak kept a straight face as he looked them over. "I don't know how you expect to incorporate these into a game that doesn't use six-sided dice."

"They're for after the game." Julian leaned to the side, picking up his tea from the side table. "The winner- no, loser, rolls. Whatever the result is, is what the winner gets to do them, if they like it."

"And if the winner doesn't?"

"The loser rolls again."

Garak tilted his head, demeanor cool in sharp contrast to his gaze. "Does kotra bore you, doctor?"

"No. But a change of pace is always welcome." Julian's own demeanor was betrayed by a pounding heart.

Garak's mouth twitched into a smile, and he inclined his head. "Well then. Let's get started, shall we?"

Kotra usually lasted two or three hours between them.

This game went on four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fifty-three seconds- ending with all of Garak's pieces captured, or backed into corners.

Julian had played well, but not aggressively. There had been a chance Garak would win. It wasn't fun otherwise- and it wasn't like Garak seemed too put out by loosing.

He leaned back, reciting the polite ending of the game that Garak had drilled into him. "Thank you, as always, for the exercise in wit."

"Of course." The dice were comically large, so Garak only picked up one. "And thank you for the lesson in grace."

The die, in turn, were actions and objects. This one was action. It spun over the table, landing on a simple, if crude depiction of two people entwined. Garak's face remained unmoved. The second die landed on "blindfold".

Garak's hand stuttered in mid air.

Julian watched him carefully as he got up out of his chair. Garak’s eyes flicked away from the dice, tracking him.

Intent. But carefully neutral.

Julian pulled out Garak’s basket of remnants and carefully selected a soft brocade already cut to a good size. Crossing back to the table, he carefully drew the cloth over his friend's face, tying it firm. "Not too loose?"

"No."

Julian circled the chair, already burning with anticipation. Yet more heat flared in him as he drank in the sight. Garak, sitting, docile, a sense stripped away from his use. A weakness created. "Perhaps I should tie your hands too." 

Garak was rubbing his fingernails back and forth over the upholstery. "With my clothes still on?"

Julian smiled. "Alright, good point." He grabbed Garak’s wrist, guiding him to the bed.

Garak sat primly, and began undressing himself. Julian began shedding his own clothes too, grateful he'd worn a shirt that fastened- he didn't have to break his gaze on Garak. Though he couldn't see, his movements were smooth. It wasn't a typically seductive display- but Julian wasn't always typical.

It took Garak longer to undress than him, simply because he wore so many layers. Julian considered telling him to stop at his "supportive garment"- the cool, clinical term Cardassians used for what really amounted to a corset- but let him be. He could explore that later.

Garak's knees parted after he finished, already anticipating.

"Ah, I'm sorry if it's a disappointment, but that's not how we're doing this."

The top of Garak's brow ridge twitched. "But the dice-"

Julian sat in his lap. "The dice don't specify who is doing what. I feel well in my rights to interpret them, seeing as how I won." He grabbed Garak’s hand and guided it down. "Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell someone older the importance of preparation?"

Garak's fingers sank into his cunt. Julian rolled his hips down on them, biting his lip. He watched Garak’s lips part- the motion of vague shadows just inside them giving away that he was scenting the air. Usually he was only so obvious about it when surprised.

"I have told you you should savor your meals more." Garak said, almost bored, almost professorial. "It seems that would benefit you in other areas as well- I've never laid hands on you and found it this wet before."

"Hm." Julian leaned forwards, pushing Garak down by the shoulders. "Is that fault mine, or have the rumors of Cardassians and their lengthy foreplay been greatly exaggerated?" Julian rolled his hips down on those fingers again, watching the faint blue flush that appeared not long after he'd brought out the dice deepen.

Garak hummed, the sound blending with the rumbling noise that betrayed Cardassian arousal. "I believe the problem lies within that- little problem of cross cultural communication."

"Yes. You do have to make an effort to reach people where they're at." Julian said dryly.

Garak laughed. "Reach is hardly a problem for me. And you're well aware of that." 

Julian pulled at Garak then, encouraging him to switch their positions. "Do I? I think my memory needs to be jogged."

Garak braced his arms by Julian's shoulders. He was still scenting so obviously. "Well, doctor. I can certainly help with that." His hips pressed against Julian's, and he everted. His cock left a slick trail that crossed Julian's hip.

Garak muttered his annoyance, and Julian laughed.

"Did being blindfolded make you more confident, dove?" He couldn't help it- not even a month ago Garak had dismissed the idea of being able to evert directly inside your partner as a ridiculous fantasy in the vast majority of circumstances, given many Cardassians supposedly abhorred oral. "I- ah!"

Garak had shut him up by properly positioning himself and sinking inside him.

Julian closed his eyes a moment and let out a long breath. The feel of Garak inside him... Julian's sexual history hardly lacked variety. And, in that variety he found it hard to do any sort of "ranking". But... he was, to put it delicately, incredibly fond of many things about Garak.

Garak's breathing was already trembling. Julian opened his eyes.

Garak's breathing wasn't the only thing trembling. His arms, where they held him up just above Julian, were shaking.

"Garak?"

Garak’s breaths were deep, but thankfully even. It became clear he was making an effort.

"Garak."

Julian’s hand alighted behind Garak’s head, fingers resting on the knot he'd tied- only for his wrist to be grabbed.

"I'm fine, doctor. This is merely- intense."

Julian pinched the knot between his fingers before letting go. He rested his hand on the back of Garak’s neck instead, fingers slipping through dark hair to gently scratch at scales. Garak let out the shudder that broke through the trembling.

"Relax your arms." Julian pulled at his elbow, encouraging it to bend. "There? Isn't that better?"

Garak grunted against Julian's neck, giving a gentle roll of his hips. Julian clenched around him, pulling a sharper sound out.

"More, Garak. You know how I like it." Julian bit the ridges running up his jaw.

"How demanding." Garak muttered as he acquiesced with firmer, more frequent rolls of his hips against Julian.

Julian amended his future plans- next time, he would not only bind Garak and blindfold him, he'd gag him too, and figure out just how much it took to milk a Cardassian dry. With his clothes still on, indeed.

Julian moved his hips to meet Garak, the image filling his mind for a moment- Garak struggling even as arousal took him, complaining, unable to complain, laying wrecked and stinking of sex. The red suit would be good- Julian adored it, almost too much to ruin it. His hand squeezed the back of Garak’s neck, making him tremor with pleasure again.

He teased the neck ridge before him with his mouth.

Garak's hips froze a moment. "Ah, my dear-"

"Getting close already?" Julian gave his scales a nip, still holding him close. "Don't worry, Garak. You won't disappoint me. I wouldn't let you."

Garak's teeth clenched around nothing. His cock throbbed harder inside Julian.

Julian's other hand wandered down, squeezing Garak’s ass and pulling his body hard against Julian's. "Keep going."

Julian muttered in Garak’s ear- more, harder, you know the angle I like, use it. He could feel tension growing in Garak- not just the tension of his arousal. He wanted something.

Julian knew exactly what it was, and kept it to himself. For the moment.

Garak's body, heavy and solid, pressed onto him, always brought Julian a thrill. Having that weight over him, at his command, was a true delight.

"Doctor- my dear." Garak's voice was desperate in his ear.

Julian hooked one leg over Garak’s hip. "Go on, dove. Be good to me- give me everything you have."

And then he bit Garak's neck ridge, ravenous, hand tightening on the back of his neck as though the thought of escape was something Garak could even fathom.

Garak let out a choked noise as his irllun flared inside Julian, his hands scrabbling against the sheets, tearing them. Julian could taste something vaguely metallic- he hadn't quite meant to go that far. He moved his hips up against Garak, holding him with even pressure as his torrential, leisurely orgasm rolled through, grinding the tip of his cock against Garak’s scales.

It didn't take him long to follow.

Garak laid on top of him, body limp. Julian carefully unclenched his jaw- there was only a little blood, not enough that it was trickling away. He pressed a fingertip against the edge of the wound. Garak let out a sound that was almost a whimper.

A vague guilt rose in Julian, but he pushed it away. "I didn't think it'd taste like that."

Garak's breath, shaky, ghosted over Julian's skin. "Ever the scientist."

Julian looped his arm around Garak’s back as he sat up. "Of course." He let Garak slump back a bit, enough that Julian could see his face. "Thank you, as always, for the lesson in wit."

In lieu of the proper reply, Garak groaned.

[vaguely-concerned]

UNHINGED DISTANT VOICES THOUGHTS (or: now we don't have time to unpack all of that julian but --)

this ep has such a banger concept (several banger concepts that should have had an ep all to themselves, really), even if its overall implementation is pretty mid. the idea that julian seems to readily believe that the most central voices inside him are aggression, fear/suspicion, doubt, confidence/sense of adventure, professionalism... and garak, being surprisingly, seductively good at tennis and taking care of him :}

in a doylist perspective I don't think this is well-crafted enough to read into it too deeply before it starts to fall gently apart, but through a watsonian lens and my fannish heart this is fucking fascinating fdsjka. where. where are all the positive feelings and sides of you that aren't about bickering with garak julian. are you okay julian. I like that since the augment storyline hadn't been conceived of yet at this point, you could look back and justify Julian's surge of confidence at the end as him realizing the lethean hasn't been able to get that deep in his mind to find what that whole mess must look like in his brain. 'you don't understand me half as well as you think you do' gains such depth, basically accidentally

'I'm a part of you, remember? I know what you know. Well... maybe a little more.'

'Still the man of mystery?'

'Oh, you wouldn't have me any other way.'

what. the FUCK fhdskjha. what's more gay, the lethean having picked through bashir's brains for this characterization of garak and their relationship (that Bashir easily buys and depends on through the ep), or him seeing half a minute max of julian and garak having lunch and uh. drawing his own conclusions, apparently. wild stuff)

Isn't this also the first time we see Julian actually play tennis with someone? All the other times it's been racquetball, right? Well well. Interesting. is all I'll say.

avery brooks does SUCH a good job changing his voice in this to match julian's doctor voice, I almost jumped in surprise when he was talking b/c that certainly isn't sisko's voice coming out of sisko's mouth

garak alternatingly going 'now -- what do you want me to do?' in a very... willing directable sort of way and telling julian that he's a good boy doing good and being so supportive and attentive and that's how the lethean tries to keep julian's shields down the longest. many thoughts. few of them PG.

JULIAN'S REASONING THAT THIS REALLY ISN'T GARAK -- NOT EVEN HIS MIND'S VERSION OF GARAK -- IS THAT THIS GARAK ISN'T COMPETENT ENOUGH FSDKJFHKSDJ. and he sounds so petulant about it too. 'the real garak would have this fixed for me a long time ago if I just batted my eyelashes and told him I thought cylon pareg's body of work was very interesting and layered :'( I miss him'

jazdia julian BROtp got me crying in quark's tonight, this was such a good direction to take that relationship. I know they kind of fuck it up again in s7 but y'know I'll take the good stuff while it's here haha

julian makes for such an amazing crotchety old man im love him

julian has a near-lethal stress dream about turning 30 and being bisexual. it's weird but very entertaining, and garak is there

[nothingwronghere]

Dresses

Elim was only a little confused when the Major and Doctor Bashir entered his tailor shop together. They rarely visited and he wondered what brought them here. He didn’t have to wonder for long.

“Garak! We have a problem.” The doctor’s smile suggested that it wasn’t truly a problem. The Major’s sigh in answer was very interesting, though.

“How may I help you, my dear doctor?”

The Major looked around the shop with a frown while the doctor explained their ‘problem’. “You have probably heard that Jadzia is going to marry.” Elim had heard. Everybody had heard. “Well, the ceremony is going to be very Klingon style. But somehow, Jadzia is fascinated by the human tradition of bridesmaids. And as addition to the Klingon ceremony, she wants bridesmaids.”

The Major snorted quietly and mumbled something too low for Elim to understand.

Elim had no idea what bridesmaids were, but he supposed he didn’t need to know to understand the problem at hand. So he remained silent and waited for the doctor to continue.

“Bridesmaids usually wear dresses. And therefore Jadzia wants us to wear dresses.”

“She wants to torture us!” The Major interjected. “She knows we can’t refuse her because it is her wedding, and she does it to make us feel miserable!”

Dresses. That was what this was about. If the Major was right or not with her assumption didn’t matter to Elim, it wasn’t any of his business if Lieutenant Commander Dax wanted to make the Major feel miserable. “So far I don’t see a problem. You need dresses?”

The doctor looked at the Major, definitely less bothered than her by the peculiar wish of Lieutenant Commander Dax. “Yes, dresses. For Kira and me.”

An interesting concept from earth to have bridesmaids (whatever that meant) who needed to wear dresses. “What did Lieutenant Commander Dax specify regarding the dresses?”

Two set of eyes stared at Elim. He sighed. “Is it supposed to be a human style dress? How long should it be? Which colour? What fabricate? Flowing or tight fitting? Simple or eye-catching? Should it match the Klingon theme of the wedding?”

Two set of eyes blinked. Then the Major answered slowly: “She said something about light colours. Pastels. And not too revealing.”

“Actually, she said you are pretty and she wants to see you in a dress for once, just to find out if it makes you prettier. And she said light colours would complement your skin tone but that she doesn’t want to have you half naked on her wedding because that might make Worf uncomfortable.”

The Major raised her brows. “She said that to both of us, actually. She called you pretty all the same.”

“She did, didn’t she?” Grinning, the doctor turned back to Elim. “You see, we don’t have much restrictions. Or rather you don’t have. I guess Jadzia’s goal is to make us both prettier, I’m sure you can achieve that.”

Elim could totally do that. Lieutenant Commander Dax was right in her assessment with the light colours and with Worf’s discomfort. He’d take both into account. Not having any restrictions didn’t make this job any easier, but Elim would start simple. “Take a look around at the dresses I have. If you find one you like, put it on. It will probably not fit, but it will be a good start to find out what sort of dress suits you and what style you like.” He didn’t bother to ask them what kind of dress they preferred, Elim was sure neither of them had worn a dress fitting for a wedding during their lives.

The two rummaged through the shop. Elim let them explore on their own but kept an eye on them. He had an idea what kind of dress would suit them, a dress that would fit both and make them both prettier. Not that he cared about the Major being pretty but to be offered the chance to put the doctor into a dress made his fingers itch to start sewing.

The Major vanished into a changing cubicle first, the doctor followed. Elim knew that the dresses they had chosen were nice, but not fitting for them. He was right.

He repressed a smile, barely, when the Major left the cabin and stepped in front of a mirror. She looked like a cardassian vegetable. Which wasn’t flattering. At all. The doctor didn’t fare much better. The dress he had chosen was too narrow on the top and too wide around the hips and nothing Elim could do would make it better.

The two frowned at themselves, then at each other. They were hopeless.

He grabbed a dress for the Major. “Major, may I suggest you try this one?”

Still frowning, she looked at Elim, then at the dress. “The colour is hideous.”

“Well, colour is easily changed. If you please?” He held it out and after a second of hesitation, she took it.

Doctor Bashir watched the Major as she stepped into the changing cubicle. Then he turned towards Elim. Who ignored him while he pulled another dress from a rack in his shop. It was green, not the best colour for the doctor, but it had the right shape. “Technically it is not a dress, because it consists of three parts, but I’m sure Lieutenant Commander Dax won’t hold it against you should you wear this.”

The doctor went to change as well, but after a few minutes called. “Garak? I could use some help here. I’m really not sure how this is supposed to be worn. I can’t...” He trailed off and Elim entered the cubicle. He tried not to look at all the exposed skin (which took a lot of effort) but instead focussed on the dress. He tugged on the cloth until every part was where it was supposed to be, then he laced the corset.

“Julian?” The Major was obviously already finished, having achieved putting the dress on without help.

“Almost done. I guess. This isn’t easy, and if we take a dress like this one we’ll need help getting dressed.”

Elim left the changing cubicle and checked the Major out. The colour of the dress wasn’t too bad, now that she wore it. It almost fit her and she was pretty. She appeared to be less displeased than with the first dress. Of course, Garak had chosen this one and he had a good eye for style and the matching of a dress to a person.

She looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw the doctor leave the cubicle right behind Elim. “Oh wow, you are beautiful!”

Elim hadn’t really looked until now, but when he turned around, his breath caught. The Major was right, the doctor was amazingly beautiful. Stunning. The corset accentuated his slim figure, with a hint of a dip around his waist. The flair of the skirt was subtle, the shoulders were completely covered with almost no cleavage. The whole dress was relatively tight, except for the skirt that ended above his ankles, and the arms that flared a little wider towards the wrists.

Doctor Bashir appeared to be taller and slimmer, in an elegant way.

Staring at himself in the mirror, the doctor tugged on the corset and the sleeves. “Are you sure? It is very tight. I suppose it isn’t designed to be comfortable.”

Elim cleared his throat. “If I may offer my opinion, you are rather dashing in the dress. And I’m sure it will suit the Major equally well.” Then he stepped forward and tugged on the cloth. It wasn’t necessary, but he used it as excuse to touch the doctor. “I would make it a bit wider here, the skirt should be shorter but you’ll need appropriate shoos. I will fit the corset to your body, then it will be easier to breathe. Though it is supposed to be tight. It is a human custom to wear corsets, it was very in fashion several hundred years ago.”

“I am aware. But women were not supposed to move much while wearing them. They were only supposed to look pretty.” With another look in the mirror, the doctor smiled at Elim, who was standing right behind him. “I guess I won’t have to move around much during Jadzia’s wedding and it is a nice dress. Kira, you should try it on as well.”

Two seconds after the doctor had disappeared in the cubicle, he called Elim again. “Can you please undress me?”

Undress. Elim blinked at the closed curtain. Undress Doctor Bashir.

He had said it casually, meant it casually, but Elim’s mind jumped to very not casual thoughts. He cleared his throat and forced himself to step forward. “Of course, my dear.”

There was nothing casual about undressing the doctor. Elim’s fingers kept brushing against his skin, warm and soft and as soon as the laces were loose enough, the doctor took a deep breath which he released with a sigh. The sound fluttered through Elim’s body in a very not-casual way.

Since Elim had stopped moving, the doctor assumed he was finished and turned. The changing cubicle wasn’t very big and suddenly they stood almost chest against chest. The doctor half dressed, the corset already sliding from his waist.

The doctor’s breath caught when his eyes connected with Elim’s, their gazes colliding and holding. They stood, both frozen to the spot, staring, and Elim’s heart was racing. The doctor was too tempting and Elim leaned closer. Just a bit, towards the warmth he was emanating. But they were already standing too close and now, if he shifted just a tiny bit, he would be able to touch the doctor. Their whole upper bodies would be touching and from there it would be just another inch to steal a kiss. A brushing of lips, to find out how it would feel to kiss this pretty human being.

Elim’s mind shut down, the proximity of Doctor Bashir clouding his senses until he, he of all people, forgot where he was and what he had been doing. Well, not completely, there had been undressing a moment ago.

A very not-casual encounter.

The doctor blinked, breaking the eye contact for a split second, but that split second was enough for Elim to realize what he was about to do. He stumbled backwards out of the cubicle and as soon as he was out of it, couldn’t see the doctor anymore, he closed his eyes. He willed his body to calm down, willed his mind to focus on something, anything that wasn’t Doctor Bashir.

When he opened his eyes, he found the Major staring at him, eyebrows raised. “I think, since Garak will sew our dresses, it should be him who helps us dress for Jadzia’s wedding.”

Elim opened his mouth to object, but the doctor was faster. His head poked out of the cubicle. “A wonderful idea! He can make sure it is a perfect fit.”

Internally, Elim groaned but of course he didn’t show his distress. Instead he smiled. “I would be my pleasure.” It would, that wasn’t even a lie.

Everything about this encounter would be a pleasure. Making a dress for the doctor, seeing him in that dress and then helping him into and out of that dress. It would be a delight, though it would test Elim’s self-control. His fingers still tingled from where he had brushed against the doctor’s skin and his body was still thrumming from the closeness. His heart was beating heavily from the exhilarating feeling of being inches from kissing the doctor. And not once had the doctor moved away from Elim.

Elim was used to such tests of self-control, and though this one would be the toughest of them all, it would be all right. And definitely worth it.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time and what the hell. last night we watched ds9's "for the cause" and voy's "tuvix."

for the cause (ds9):

this one was fun bc the entire time i kept going no way is her ass smuggling for the maquis. its that cop guy setting her up. and then both turned out to be true LMAO

i am sooooo sad this happened to him. i hope they arent writing her out bc i like her so much. jake likes her! they bonded over baseball!!!

when sisko was like holding jake's hand and talking about how important their relationship was no matter what AAAAUGHGHG GOD

i just really genuinely thot she was innocent. i kept being like man dont accuse her. look at the woman you have. if you blow it you will never forgive yourself and then she willingly comes back to go to JAIL

b plot of garak was not too bad although it's always sad when we get him w/o bashir. for once i was convinced the actress for ziyal was different AND I WAS RIGHT! who's faceblind NOW (it's still me). deeply funny also whatever he had going on with quark when he was tailoring his pants

tuvix (voy):

WHAT. ON EARTH. WAS THIS

ok prior to this i had read on reddit that everyone hated janeway for killing tuvix. and i thought once i started that i had gotten the name wrong, that they hated her for killing tuVOK. then when i saw the title i thought they might be clones. imagine my surprise when tuvok wasn't even cloned or anything but he just straight up FUSES WITH NEELIX

they did a good job with tuvix. he was likable (until the end), he had mannerisms of both characters, it was really great. like, the ethical debate would not have worked if tuvix was just horrible and unsettling

GOD. AND THEY ACTUALLY DID ACT, IS THE THING. like janeway confessing to kes how she struggles with grief and hopelessness, kes coming to janeway's office in tears, THIS WAS ACTED. you REALLY genuinely felt their pain it was great character stuff for them both. janeway was lost without tuvok to ask for guidance and kes was lost without neelix AND tuvok like GOD

personally i think the deciding factor was tuvix's decision to involve kes - it was unfair to come to her for help, and especially sad when they'd worked so well within her boundaries before

the other thing is of course that neelix and tuvok arent alive inside this guy as he argues, theyre essentially TRAPPED inside this guy. two lives > one life, unfortunately for him

the end scene was still fucked up though. like REALLY fucked up. i love that the doctor wouldn't even participate. like it was That fucked up. and did we get any resolution after? something from janeway about why she did this? reassurances from tuvok and neelix? NOPE. episode just ends and you have to think about tuvix's accusatory stare forever. jesus fucking christ

TONIGHT: ds9's "to the death" and voy's "resolutions"

[youngpettyqueen]

Oh I now saw you reblogged some prompts! this one caught my eye bc I immediately heard this in jadzia's voice about garashir 67. “Oh my god! You’re in love with them!”

anon youre so right I IMMEDIATELY heard this in her voice on reading it. please enjoy Jadzia hassling Julian about his very not-subtle thing with the local lizard man

Julian is in a very good mood today.

Jadzia noticed it very quickly upon entering the infirmary. Of course, he was very concerned when she showed him her burnt hand, the result of not paying enough attention while tinkering with a panel that had been bothering her. But his concern was quickly gone once he realized the burn was only shallow, and would just need a quick pass with a dermal regenerator.

The thing is, he would usually still fuss. Or, at the very least, admonish her for being careless. But, no, he's coming back with the dermal regenerator and he's... humming, of all things. A slow song, with a gentle melody that she finds herself wanting to sway along to. She doesn't recognize it off the top of her head, but it's... nice.

"What is that?" She asks. She can't help herself- she's curious by nature.

"Hm?" Julian stops humming, looking up to meet her eyes, "What's what?"

"That song you're humming," Jadzia says, "It's nice. What is it?"

"Oh, that," Julian looks back at her hand, focusing on running the regenerator over her palm, "It's a... Cardassian piece. It's been stuck in my head since this morning." He tells her.

Jadzia narrows her eyes at him. He's... blushing. It's subtle, but it's there- he's all pink in the cheeks. "A Cardassian piece?" She echoes, a mischievous smirk curling her lips, "Where did you hear that?"

Julian is now very pointedly avoiding eye contact. "Garak showed it to me." He tells her.

Jadzia leans in, trying to catch his eye. "And why was Garak showing you Cardassian music this morning?" She asks, "Don't you two usually meet for lunch?"

His face is now going a very adorable shade of red. "We can meet more than once a week, Jadzia." He points out.

"Have you been meeting more than once a week?" She can't help but keep pressing- he's like a big red button, begging to be pushed, "Julian, you didn't tell me! When did that happen?"

"I wasn't aware I needed to keep you informed of what I do with my-" Julian cuts himself off very quickly, takes a moment, then coughs out, "Friend." In about the most unconvincing manner possible.

Oh, she has him now. "If he's your friend, then why are you blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush?" She asks.

Julian abruptly lets go of her hand. "Well, that takes care of that!" He says, his voice pitched, "If you would excuse me, I'm a very busy man, and I have... many surgeries to get to." He turns on his heel and starts making his escape.

Jadzia hops off the examination table and follows. "Oh, no. You're not getting away from me that easily," She swoops in front of him, blocking his way, "I want details." She insists.

"Details of what?" Julian asks incredulously.

"Your date." Jadzia grins.

"It wasn't a date!" Julian exclaims, "Really, I have patients to-" He tries to duck around her, but she moves to get in his way.

"No?" She presses, stepping closer. He steps back, "You two just... what, had a little get together this morning? Where he showed you Cardassian music?" She ducks down to catch his eye, "Slow Cardassian music?" She adds, pointed.

Julian's blush has started creeping across his nose. "Exactly," He squeaks out, unconvincing, "Just a friendly get together. Between friends. With... music."

Jadzia raises a brow at him. "I didn't see you on the promenade this morning." She informs him.

"That's because we weren't on the promenade." Julian replies.

"And you weren't in the holosuites," She continues, "I know, because Worf runs his exercise class every morning, and Quark was too scared to get that Klingon party from last night out of the others."

Julian backs right up into the examination table. "I don't know what you're getting at." He deflects.

Jadzia leans in. "You were in his quarters, weren't you?" She asks, grinning like a wolf.

Julian's eyes widen like moons. "I was not!" He exclaims, looking around wildly like somebody might be listening, "Honestly, Jadzia, I hardly see how this is any of your business!" He hisses.

"Then where were you?" Jadzia questions, undeterred, "C'mon, Julian, if you can't tell me, who can you tell? Where were you?" She hassles.

Julian shrinks backwards, looking like he wants to make like a turtle and hide in his uniform. And then he ducks his head, mumbling something at a volume a Ferengi wouldn't be able to pick up on.

"What was that?" Jadzia leans more into his space, putting her arms on either side of him and trapping him, "I can't hear you."

Julian looks up to meet her eyes. He's all red, all the way to his ears. He considers for a moment, before he heaves a loud sigh and, very quietly, he admits, "...My quarters."

Jadzia lights up like the Dabo wheel at Quark's. "I knew it!" She exclaims, clapping her hands against the examination table, "I knew you were seeing each other. Julian, you've been holding out on me!" She accuses, "How long has this been going on?"

Julian presses himself backwards, very nearly climbing up onto the table. "I'm not answering that."

"Did he spend the night?" Jadzia continues.

"I'm especially not answering that!" Julian squawks.

"Do you love him?" Jadzia grins, nearly nose to nose with him.

Now Julian does push himself up onto the table, and he uses the opportunity to swing himself around and jump down to the other side and try to make his escape. "This conversation is over!" He calls as he hurries away.

Jadzia follows in hot pursuit. "Oh my god, you are in love with him!"

"Jadzia!"

[walkingstackofbooks]

My Julian ships, ranked

So someone commented on one of my Sloanshir posts the other day "I don't ship Sloanshir, but..." and that started me thinking - do I ship Sloanshir? What makes a ship?

And then that spiralled into thinking about all the other/actual ships I enjoy and I always enjoy getting an insight into how other people conceptualise shipping, so this came about...

(Now that I've done this, I realise my basis for a lot of these ships is basically where can the best hurt/comfort stories be found? ... Yeah I really should have been able to predict that 😅)

Platonic ships

Jadzia&Julian - best friends, understand each other so well (but also sometimes not at all), there for each other and just so much love.

Fluff: 8/10. Hurt/comfort: 10/10. Angst: 6/10.

Kira&Julian - slightly awkward, not thinking they're that close to each other until suddenly they are and there's a lot of love and respect. What their post-canon friendship could become is 👌👌👌

Fluff: 7/10. Hurt/comfort: 7/10. Angst: 7/10.

Romantic (mostly) ships

Miles/Keiko/Julian (+anyone else) - just the fluffiest, all the group hugs, all the comfort, everyone loves Julian and I'm happy 🥰

Fluff: 10/10. Hurt/comfort: 10/10. Angst: 5/10.

Miles/Julian - all the hurt/comfort, all the awkwardness and love 👌👌👌 top tier, I just love them.

Fluff: 8/10. Hurt/comfort: 10/10. Angst: 7/10.

Garak/Julian - there's a lot to be liked, but I can never quite believe that Garak's great at comfort, so it goes below Jiles, sorry. But all the parallels, all the mutual pining, an their arguments and banter and ridiculous fondness for each other despite everything - yeahhh that's the good stuff.

Fluff: 6.5/10. Hurt/comfort: 7/10. Angst: 9/10.

Leeta/Rom/Julian - I like Julian/Leeta well enough, but if you've got J/L you might as well add in Rom because as a trio they are just so cute. All of them having special interests and encouraging each other and listening to each other, all of them bent a little insecure and building one another up - idk, this is just really special to me (tysm to Udaberri's Fly Me to the Moon, this ship has never left my brain since).

Fluff: 10/10. Hurt/comfort: 8/10. Angst: 3/10.

Martok/Julian - mmmm internment camp angst and a highly accomplished Klingon admiring Julian and looking after him? Yissss. There's so much to love here.

Fluff: 5/10. Hurt/comfort: 9/10. Angst: 9/10.

Ezri/Julian - I just think they're neat. Cute and adorable, both absolutely rubbish with their feelings, an oasis of messy fluff in the middle of the war.

Fluff: 8/10. Hurt/comfort: 6/10. Angst: 5/10.

Sisko/Julian - I love the mutual respect, I love the desire overcoming Julian's insecurities and Sisko's doubts if his position makes this okay. I'm very here for them both looking after each other when everything gets too much, and both probably giving *too much* to each other and taking turns to overextend themselves and get scolded by the other.

Fluff: 6/10. Hurt/comfort: 8/10. Angst: 4/10.

Odo/Julian - I don't think this is endgame, but I can see it when Odo is human and Julian is helping him figure out how to do it (stuffedtiger's fic, while platonic, left a mark on me here) and also I love their parallels in their treatment and upbringing by their parental figure(s). 10/10 if there are no romantic feelings but they both act as if there are because they're curious and lonely and aren't quite sure what the difference between platonic and romantic is anyway (arospec solidarity for the wiiiiin)

Fluff: 7/10. Hurt/comfort: 6/10. Angst: 4/10

Data/Julian - it's just cute. The most autistic vibing ever. 😘😘😘

Fluff: 8/10. Hurt/comfort: 5/10. Angst: 2/10

Worf/Julian - I'm so here for Worf grudgingly admitting he likes the doctor, and Julian being surprised but pleased. Youngpettyqueen's fic and Worf's "he takes the pain well" are FEELS. Actually I think this is more of a fluff pairing than I'd realised XD

Fluff: 7/10. Hurt/comfort: 8/10. Angst: 4/10

Worf/Julian/Jadzia - I don't think it would work, but it would be fun to see them try. Everyone thinks they're more on board with it than they are.

Fluff: 6/10. Hurt/comfort: 5/10. Angst: 5/10

Not-ships... but I love to see it

Sloan/Julian - so creepy, so angsty, all the non/dubcon possibilities and Julian hates it. 👌👌 The mindfuckery that Sloan can bring is especially appealing.

Dukat/Julian - often brings a revenge-on-Garak vibe, again I enjoy it purely because Julian's not into it 😅